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Ref Review: Manchester City and Arsenal get lucky

Date published: Monday 14th September 2015 1:12

Manchester City and Arsenal were the only teams to benefit from incorrect refereeing decisions over the weekend, according to our Ref Review panel.

Refereeing decisions are regularly the source of debate among fans, pundits, players and managers so this season a five-strong TEAMtalk panel will be passing judgement on every red card (or avoidance of one), every penalty and any other major incident.

We’ll also keep a tally of the major decisions to go for and against each team in an attempt to settle the never-ending debate about whether certain clubs are favoured more than others by Premier League referees.

Week 5

Steven Naismith avoiding red card v Chelsea: It was his hat-trick which earned Everton their victory over Chelsea, but he may not even have been on the pitch had the officials spotted him kicking Branislav Ivanovic with the ball well gone. All of our panel, however, felt he would only have been booked even if the incident had been seen. Verdict: Correct decision (not to send him off)

Gabriel avoiding red card v Stoke: Another incident not spotted by the referee was Gabriel’s off-the-ball elbow on Marko Arnautovic during Arsenal’s win over Stoke. Both players used their arms as they tussled to get ahead of each other, but Gabriel had the last word and could well face retrospective action from the Football Association. Verdict: Incorrect decision

Crystal Palace penalty appeal v Manchester City: It was not hard to understand how it was missed by referee Mike Jones, but replays showed Yohan Cabaye was tripped by Fernandinho. Verdict: Incorrect decision

Scott Dann avoiding red card v Manchester City: Seconds after the trip on Cabaye, Dann was booked for a rather more forceful trip on Sergio Aguero. The Argentine had to be substituted as a result, but a three-to-two majority felt that clouds what was a standard yellow card offence. Verdict: Correct decision

Yaya Toure avoiding red card v Crystal Palace: Manuel Pellegrini felt Dann should have seen red card for his challenge, while Palace boss Alan Pardew was clearly incensed by a later tackle from Toure on James McArthur. While some referees would have sent off both, our panel welcomed Jones’ consistency in treating both tackles in the same way. Verdict: Correct decision

Valon Behrami red card v Swansea: This was similar to Charlie Adam’s red card before the international break in that those with certain persuasions could argue it as an accidental tread rather than a stamp. However, Behrami clearly made an intentional movement with his left leg to land on Andre Ayew. Our panel unanimously agreed the referee got this one right. Verdict: Correct decision

West Brom penalty appeal v Southampton: “I’ll be having a chat with Callum on Monday. I don’t like to see that.” With West Brom manager Tony Pulis believing Callum McManaman dived in an an attempt to win a penalty, who are we to argue? Verdict: Correct decision

Manchester United penalty v Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers said that Ander Herrera had “done well” to win the penalty, but Joe Gomez can have absolutely no complaints after sliding in on the United midfielder but failing to get anywhere near the ball. Verdict: Correct decision

Tottenham penalty appeal v Sunderland: Kyle Walker had a half-hearted appeal for a penalty inside the opening two minutes at the Stadium of Light, but Patrick van Aanholt was simply standing his ground. Verdict: Correct decision

Sunderland penalty appeal v Tottenham: The home side also thought they should have had a penalty when Toby Alderweireld grabbed hold of Jermain Defoe’s arm, but the incident started outside of the penalty area. Judging what happened in the box alone, only one of our five-man panel felt there was enough to point to the spot. Verdict: Correct decision

Any decisions not debated were considered as correct decisions by the referee.